Utah Valley Pediatrics strives to keep parents up to date on the latest health topics and advisories. Our newsletter covers medicine changes and news, pediatric news, seasonal and age specific topics and what’s new at Utah Valley Pediatrics.
Archives
Summer 2009
Vol. 3 Issue 2
Medicine Changes and News
A False Sense of Security: Refusing Vaccination Puts Us at Risk
Medical Discount Cards — Not Worth The Investment
Pediatric News
Does My Child Have an Allergy?
Protecting Your Child From Asthma Flare-Ups
Seasonal and Age Specific
Fun in the Sun: Protect Your Children From Skin Damage
Sign Up Early for Sports and Camp Physicals
What's New at UVP
Dr. Michael P. Fullmer Joins Payson Office
Payson Office Expands After Hours Care
Contacts
Kevin Moffitt
Administrator
801-373-8930
Allison Arnold
Manager
801-373-8930
Quick Links
Medicine Changes and News
A False Sense of Security:
Refusing Vaccination Puts Us at Risk
Parents often have to make important decisions for their children and getting your child vaccinated is one. A few years ago the decision was pretty easy. Parents had seen the devastation that diseases like polio, pertussis, and measles cause and wanted to make sure that their children were protected. But as the years have passed, vaccines have become so successful that we no longer see the devastating diseases that they protect us against.
Many parents are also concerned about vaccine safety issues. In the media we hear a lot of claims from special interest groups that vaccines cause things like autism, attention deficit disorder, seizures, and epilepsy. However, none of these claims have been upheld in research. Studies have shown that vaccines are very safe, with only rare and mild side effects. Any risk of a serious reaction to a vaccine is extremely small when compared to the serious diseases they prevent.
Medical Discount Cards — Not Worth The Investment
With the high cost of health insurance, many people have been tempted to buy into a medical discount card program. For a monthly fee the cards give you access to discounted rates that the card company negotiates with health care providers. However, the cards are not insurance and will not protect you against expensive medical costs. You also only receive the discount if you pay the bill in full at the time of service.
Instead of contracting with these companies, Utah Valley Pediatrics offers self-pay cash adjustments of 20% for uninsured patients who pay in full at the time of service, which means you get the same benefits without having to pay the card company's premium.
Pediatric News
Does My Child Have an Allergy?
As many as 50 million Americans have some kind of allergy and about 8% of children have a food allergy. An allergy is when the immune system overreacts to a normally harmless substance. The immune system tries to "protect" the body by releasing chemicals to fight against the invading allergen. These chemicals are what cause the symptoms of an allergic reaction. These reactions can range from mildly annoying to life threatening. Some allergies are hereditary, but children can also have an allergy even if nobody in the family does.
How Do You Know if Your Child has an Allergy?
Allergies are hard to diagnose because the type and severity of the symptoms vary dramatically depending on the person and the type of allergen. Here are some common allergies and their symptoms.
Dealing With Asthma Flare Ups
Parents who have children with asthma often have to be extra vigilant. If your child's asthma does not stay under control your child can experience what are called asthma flare-ups (also called attacks or episodes). Because it is important to treat flare-ups early, it is a good idea for parents to learn how to recognize and prevent flare-ups.
West Nile Virus
West Nile Virus is most commonly transmitted by mosquitos to humans, birds, horses, and some other mammals. The most severe diseases caused by the West Nile virus are:
• West Nile Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain)
• West Nile Meningitis (inflammation of the membrane around the brain and the spinal cord)
• West Nile Meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and the membrane surrounding it)
West Nile Fever is another type of illness that can occur in people who become infected with the virus. It is characterized by fever, headache, tiredness, aches, and sometimes rash. Although the illness can be as short as a few days, even healthy people have been sick for several weeks (CDC).
Seasonal and Age Specific
Fun in the Sun: Protect Your Children From Skin Damage
Sun in moderation is our primary source of vitamin D, but if we get too much sun it can cause skin damage, eye damage, immune system suppression, and cancer. Since children are out in the sun a lot, it is important to keep them protected. Most children get between 50% and 80% of their lifetime sun exposure before they turn 18. Most of this exposure occurs during day-to-day activities, meaning parents need to be careful everyday, not just during those occasional trips to the lake.
How to Beat the Heat
Playing outside can be a lot of fun, but being out in the heat too long can cause serious heat-related illnesses like heat syncope (fainting from heat), heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Watch children carefully to make sure they don't get too hot and that they get plenty of water. If your child starts to act overheated, tired or weak, he or she should be taken out of the sun and given liquid to drink.
Play it Safe in the Water
During the summer children are drawn to the water like flies to honey. Playing in the water is a lot of fun and can be great exercise, but it can sometimes be dangerous. One thousand children drown each year, and for children between 1 to 14 it is the second leading cause of accidental death. Be sure your children stay safe this summer by keeping a close eye on them and teaching them how to be careful. Here are some helpful tips.
Sign Up Early for Sports and Camp Physicals
Many camps and sporting activities require a physical before you can participate. Although physicals done by someone other than your pediatrician can be convenient, we strongly recommend that you see your pediatrician for a complete physical. They provide an excellent opportunity to screen for problems that affect adolescents. The physical with your pediatrician also gives you the opportunity to talk about such things as acne or chronic medical problems. Your pediatrician will take the time you won't get in a less thorough sports physical to also address such things a nutrition, development, safety, and your health in general.
Please schedule your physical early to avoid the rush. Bring your forms with you and complete as much as you can of the form before your visit.
What's New at UVP
Dr. Michael P. Fullmer Joins Payson Office
On June 1st, Dr. Michael P. Fullmer, D.O., joined Dr. Miller and Dr. Peterson in our Payson Office. Dr. Fullmer specializes in the care of infants, children and adolescents, with a special focus on caring for children with special healthcare needs, premature newborns, cardiology, diabetes, and asthma. He is relocating from Iowa where he worked as a pediatric hospitalist for 5 years.
You can call (801) 465-2800 to schedule appointments with Dr. Fullmer.
Payson Office Expands After Hours Care
In order to serve our patients in the Payson area better, we have expanded our After Hours Care hours.
Payson Office Hours
Monday-Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Payson After Hours Care
(read more about After Hours Care)
Monday-Friday: 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
After Hours Care
If your child is injured, please give us a call before going to the ER or Urgent Care. Most times, we can take care of the injury without you incurring the high charges of Urgent Care or the ER. A pediatrician is available each evening, weekend, and holiday. In the evenings, a pediatrician is available until 9:00 p.m. for our American Fork and Payson Offices and 10:00 p.m. for our Provo, Plaza, Orem, and Timpanogos Offices. Please call your pediatrician's office to make arrangements to be seen.
Add Us to Your Safe List
Commonly used email filters may accidentally filter Utah Valley Pediatric e-mails from your inbox. To prevent this from happening, please add emails ending with @uvpediatrics.com to your address book to continue receiving this newsletter as well as other helpful customer service communications from Utah Valley Pediatrics. Thank you.
Privacy
Utah Valley Pediatrics respects your privacy and will never sell your email address to a third party. Read our Privacy Policy.